Photo by Karola G: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-tearing-paper-6029175/

Starting over. That could be the theme for the coming New Year. It also coincides with my current writing project. The critique group ripped several chapters to shreds. And, upon reflection, I’ve torn the whole thing up.

Sometimes it’s better to start fresh rather than fix the broken. Like a car that’s more expensive to repair than it’s worth, sadly, that was the state of this manuscript.

Photo by jamies.x. co: https://www.pexels.com/photo/abandoned-car-in-a-junkyard-8117260/

You may love that car, like I loved that manuscript, but, well, sometimes you must accept that some things are beyond saving. I still wish, though, that I had my ’65 Mustang.

This manuscript, a romance intended to introduce a series about working dogs and the people the dogs ‘rescue’, was supposed to be a novella. Chapters would be given away in installments before the launching of the series. But… it didn’t work out for several reasons, the main one being I rushed the story. I tried to fit too much into too small a space. Important details, character development, and plot depth got overlooked or sacrificed. After all, this manuscript only introduced the actual series, it was never intended to be a book, just a marketing tool.

But the critique group, and the main character, didn’t agree. The single point of view, while it works in some novels, didn’t work in this novel. And it wasn’t a simple case of throwing in some chapters with another point of view. That was too easy to be viable.

So… I trashed the book.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crumpled-papers-in-a-mesh-trash-can-6913289/

But not all of it. I kept: the main characters, the timeline, the conflicts, the setting, the main character’s point of view. I added another point of view from the main secondary character, additional details about the conflicts, more conflicts, backstory, and tension.

I kept a modified first chapter, and can use the skeletons of the other chapters as I revise. With all the critique group suggestions, and keeping in mind the writing principles that Sandra Gerth reminded me of in her book Show, Don’t Tell, it almost feels like a familiar yet new book. (No, I don’t have a title yet.) All I can tell you is that it involves a feisty, take-no-b.s. female lead, a badass guy who’s a teddy bear, a kitten rescue, some nasty co-workers, bad luck, tough choices, and a romance. I think that’s enough for conflict and an interesting plot.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress, but to tease you a little more, here’s how I imagined the main characters, Michelle and Don:

Just to keep you in my writing loop, I’ve submitted revisions (maybe not final revisions) to an editor for a holiday romance titled Christmas Bells, Hanukkah Lights. I’m hoping to hear how she likes them by the end of January. Fingers crossed, it could be out by next Christmas! In the meanwhile, I’ll not only work on Michelle’s and Don’s story, but really scrutinize and revise the books in my working dogs series (but don’t worry, there are cats in the cast too!)

Till next week, I’m writing, revising, eating too many Christmas cookies, and dealing with snowstorms. Be safe, be smart, be kind.

Oh, before I go… I will be doing another giveaway of The Excalibur Vow with a bookmark (probably after the holidays). But, you have to be subscribed to be in the running, live in the 48 contiguous states, and can’t have won previously.